| Depends... |
Bio, district, roll call, and more (varies between sites) |
Member sites: usually [lastname].house.gov |
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| 0, 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 |
Bio, votes, positions, experience, ratings, speeches, funding |
VoteSmart
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| 0 |
Personal background |
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
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The member's personal background: age & DOB, education, marital status, immediate family members, occupation, partisan affiliation/history, economic status. For economic status, find out what their lifestyle is (net worth), excluding their Congressional salary. |
| 1 |
Political experience |
See rows 1 (member sites) and 2 (VoteSmart)
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Member's political experience. Years in different elected political offices, including this one
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| 2 |
District |
My Congressional District (from census.gov)
U.S. census
County website (.gov)
Social Explorer library database
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Location in the state and geographic size/shape
Landmarks or highlights (cities, events, etc.)
Demographics of your district:
- Socioeconomics: main industry or enterprises
- Political sense, including political party registration breakdown (R,D,I)
- Average income, age, and education levels of population
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| 3 |
Election returns |
Federal election stats
New York Times data - scroll down for past elections
America Votes (library book, 2020 and earlier)
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Vote breakdown for the member in Nov 2022 and Nov 2020 (or last special election if new)
Electoral context of 2022 elections: beat an incumbent or won open seat? Had a weak or strong challenger?
Name the major party opponent and report what the vote breakdown was.
Your district and state's vote for President Nov. 2016 and 2020
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| 4 |
Financial supporters |
Open Secrets
Federal Election Commission (expenses and spending)
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Name the five "Top Industries 2021-2022" that made campaign donations. Don't need $ amounts. What kinds of special interests are supportive?
Percentage of funds in 2021-2022 ("Source of Funds" on opensecrets) that came from large individual contributions, small individual contributions, and PAC contributions. Which was largest?
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5
6
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Committees and subcommittees
Leadership experience
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Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives
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Member's current committee and subcommittee assignments
Relevant leadership experience as a member of Congress, if any, past or present
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| 7 |
D.C. and district staff members |
Call offices
House telephone directory (complete?)
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Number of D.C. and district staff members as of 2022 or current
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| 8 |
Ratings and voting records |
Voting records from Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
Ratings from American Conservative Union (ACU) / Conservative Political Action Commission (CPAC)
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Ratings re: ideological positioning or roll call vote patterns according to the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) and/or the American Conservative Union (ACU) or CPAC ratings. |
| 9 |
Bipartisan Index score |
The Lugar Center
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Member's Bipartisan Index score for 2021, as calculated by the Lugar Center. Explain what it means |
| 10 |
Issue concerns and positions |
Congressional member profiles
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Member's primary issue concerns and positions, including which would be key to winning in your district |
| 11 |
Legislative style |
NexisUni library news database
Web search for news articles
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Legislative style, any info on "homestyle" or "hillstyle". Read articles to learn about them.
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| 12 |
Videos |
C-SPAN
Local PBS stations
Member's official YouTube channel
Live House proceedings (hit or miss)
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Two videos that give a sense of who they are. No political ads.
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